


Space Walk with Me

by sgteam14283



Series: Better Version of Me [3]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-01-25 06:36:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21351847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgteam14283/pseuds/sgteam14283
Summary: To get the Quarians and Geth to stop fighting, the Normandy needs to do whatever it takes.
Relationships: Female Ryder | Sara/James Vega, Kaidan Alenko/Female Shepard
Series: Better Version of Me [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1707859
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Priority: Rannoch

**Author's Note:**

> Happy N7 Day! 
> 
> I figured I'd mark the event by posting the next work in my Vega/Ryder series. This takes place during Priority: Rannoch as well as after it. Also I didn't like how they sort of glossed over the fact that Shepard gotten spaced and most likely wasn't too keen on the idea of the space walk to begin with. Also features some of the in-game dialogue Enjoy!

James Vega didn’t know what was happening.

EDI had just told them over comms that Shepard would have to manually secure the only access tube that was exposed so they could board the geth dreadnought. Then Shepard stiffened and leaned against the wall, taking her helmet off and letting it fall to the floor.

There was a pause and suddenly Ryder’s stripping out of her gear while asking EDI if she could distort her voice to make it sound like the Commanders.

“What are you doing?” he asked while silently grateful they were on the other side of the docking bay door and not somewhere public. The rest of the crew didn’t need to see this.

“_We don’t have time for this._” Anna mentally sighed as she kicked her gear off to the side. It was clear that EDI’s announcement had triggered Commander Shepard’s memories of the SR-1 being destroyed, but they needed someone to open the port.

So Ryder did what she did best, go all in on a half-baked idea.

“Short version; I’m roughly the same size as the Commander so to everyone else I’m her.” Anna said while glancing towards Shepard, knowing they had limited time before others started asking questions. “Commander, I need you to take off your armor.”

“You can’t just decide that.”

Anna raised an eyebrow as she straightened and turned to face a not-happy Vega. Mirroring his stance, she stared back at him with what she hoped was an icy glare. “You want to pull rank? Fine, _Lieutenant_. Right now we have a big problem; the Quarians and Geth are destroying each other and the Commander has to stop it. Unfortunately she can’t do the fucking _space walk_ and someone has to so it’s going to. be. me.”

As she finished Vega realized that she was doing this because of the loyalty the Commander inspired. You would go to the end of the universe if the Commander asked because she would do the same for you. Relaxing a little, James nodded and Anna turned back to where Shepard was and started helping her out of the heavy armor. 

“Want some help?” he grunted as Ryder struggled with the chest plate. His way of extending an olive branch.

Anna paused, her fingers curled around the armor and looked at Vega-a retort on the tip of her tongue. But then she saw that he was genuine in his offer. “Yeah.”

Vega silently moved and grabbed the chestplate from her hands, settling it on her with ease. He then started sealing it, getting the hard to reach places while trying to ignore how perfect the slope where her shoulders met her neck was or this close he could see a dusting of freckles along her hairline.

He’d never noticed the freckles before and wondered if they were on her face as well.

Anna finished up with the arm braces and told herself that the nervous feeling in her stomach was because of the impending space walk and not because of how sturdy and secure Vega’s hands felt. Like she wanted to fall asleep with those arms around her, not even in a ‘we just finished banging’ kind of way. Just in a ‘you’re finally in a safe place’ kind of feeling.

“Here’s her helmet.”

Vega’s voice tore Anna out of her thoughts and she felt her cheeks heat up. “That’s the one thing that won’t fit.” she replied with a half-smile while lifting up her own. “Luckily mine’s a dark color so no one’s gonna notice.”

“EDI, you ready to work your magic?” Anna asked over a private channel once she’d secured her helmet. She didn’t like the AI, and had rebuffed the attempts it kept making to sync to her omni-tool. But Anna also knew in order to pull this off she’d have to work with EDI this once.

_Yes, Ryder._

Anna took a breath before keying into the public channel, “I’ll secure the docking area and let you know when you can follow.”

If Shepard wasn’t sitting on the floor in front of him, Vega wouldn’t have known the difference.

“_Good luck, Freckles._” he thought as Ryder stepped towards the airlock.

The airlock doors sealed with a hiss, and suddenly Anna was completely alone. There’s no sound around her, just her own breathing echoing in her helmet and staring across the wide expanse of the access port. The magnetics in her boots activated automatically, but she still held onto the side of the ship for a second just to double-check.

“_I really should have taken that zero-g class at the Academy._” she thought to herself with a shake of her head.

“_Everything alright...Commander?_” 

Vega’s voice filled her helmet and Anna was brought back to the fact that everyone on the ship thought she was Shepard. “Just making sure I’m not going to float away, Lieutenant.”

Hesitantly take a few steps forward, Anna fully realized what she was about to do.

Around her the Geth and Quarian fleets were fighting it out with brilliant explosions on either side of the hatchway. She got across the first section alright but then came across twisted metal instead of a smooth path. “Damn, route’s blocked. I’ll have to find an alternate one.” 

“Don’t push it, Shepard.” Major Alenko’s reassuring voice came over the public comm and it relaxed Anna some, even though he was oblivious to what was really going on. Taking a breath, Anna looked around for a way across and spotted panels interlocking together that looped around the blocked section.

“_Alright here we go._” she thought to herself while awkwardly turning herself in the direction of the first panel and slowly making her way across it. As she was upside down, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“_Easy Commander. If I didn’t know better I’d say you were having fun._” Joker replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Hey, how many times am I going to get a view like this?” Anna glanced at the sun in the middle of the system and paused, holding her breath slightly as she stared at the ships sending streams of ammo and tracers towards each other.

“_Better get moving. Commander._” Vega said, nervously watching from his spot at one of the viewport windows. Shepard was no longer hyperventilating and looked a little more like her normal self, sitting on the floor with her back on the inner bay door. It was a ballsy move, covering for the Commander like that and it looked like it was paying off.

“Thanks, Lieutenant.” Anna turned away from the view and continued to wind her way around the access port. After what seemed like a lifetime, she reached the Geth dreadnought and was about to let the Normandy know they were green for docking when a jolt shuddered through her.

Heart in her throat she acted quickly, grabbing onto a hand hold while twisting to see what was happening and ignoring chatter on the comm. Most of the access port had detached from the ship and was now floating away. 

“That’s not good.”

“_Everything okay, Commander?_”

“_Shepard, you alright?_”

“_What happened!?_”

“I’m good. We just need Plan C. Joker, bring the Normandy around. Tali, can you find me an alternate entrance?” Anna said while she finished putting in the codes and the docking bay door slowly opened. 

“_I think so. Hang on, Shepard._” 

Anna stepped inside, pulling out the N7 Eagle pistol that she favored. It was quiet on the deck, but that didn’t mean she was alone. She felt the door behind her close with a shudder and the area re-pressurize. Even so, she still kept her helmet on.

“_Here we go! Head to the other side of the bay, there’s an opening that we can exploit._”

“Thanks Tali.” Anna slowly made her way through the deck, careful that there weren’t any geth. But the area was empty and she spotted pieces of hull folded on each other. “You sure this’ll work?”

“_What you’re seeing is the result of Admiral Gerrel throwing the entire fleet at the dreadnought. I told him that it wasn’t worth the casualties but he ignored me. This has to work, otherwise my people will be destroyed._”

“Okay. Going to set the charges.” Anna replied as she holstered her pistol and pulled out the thermal charges. After setting them around the debris, she backed up a safe distance and pulled the trigger.

The hole widened and the vacuum pulled out the shrapnel, making it large enough for Shepard, Vega, and Tali to enter through. Straightening as the Normandy pulled into position, Anna found that she was holding her breath. It was only after she spotted her own armor stepping onto the dreadnought did she let it out. 

“I had EDI cut the comms. Tali knows what you did.” Rose said as she walked up towards Ryder, it strange to see her black and red armor on someone else. “Not bad. A little short but I’m nearly a string bean as my mother’s family liked to say.”

“Yes ma’am.” Ryder laughed as they made their way towards the hatch and waited as Tali decrypted the door. Once they were on the other side, the quarian set to work on the next panel while Shep and Ryder swapped armor again. 

“That was some quick thinking.”

Anna looked up from reattaching her leg greaves to see Vega standing next to her. 

“It was nothing.” she shrugged, giving the strap a final tug and standing. “I saw the news vids when the SR1 was destroyed. It seemed like it wasn’t pretty.”

“Yeah, she still has nightmares about it.” James said, folding his arms and looking at the redhead in front of him, remembering when he was part of her house-arrest back on Earth.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Shepard and Tali were still working on the panel and that it might be a few more moments until they had to get back into it. “Listen, about before. I know it was...tense but it's only been a few weeks since you joined the crew."

"And you still don't know if you can trust me." 

"Yes and no. It seems like no one really wants to make sure the Commander is alright, that she's just something to fight the Reapers with and when the War's over they'll throw her back into house arrest."

Anna opened her mouth to say that she just wanted to show that she belonged on the Normandy, that the Commander didn't make a mistake in letting her come aboard, but at that moment the panel Tali had been working on let out a chirp and the door hissed open. Flashing Vega a quick smile, she slid on her helmet and made sure that her disruptor ammo was loaded.

“Alright.” Rose said after putting on her helmet and making sure it was secure. “Let’s go stop this war.”


	2. Aftermath

Hours later Ryder ran a towel through her hair, tossing it into the ‘dirty’ pile in the showers while trying to wrap her brain around the fact that Shepard had managed to not only stop the conflict but get the Quarians and Geth to work together. “_That still doesn’t change my opinion on AI though._”

Stepping into the hallway she found herself still too wound up from the fight, so she decided to head down to the armory and start cleaning her pistol; maybe figure out why it had been sticking when she loaded a new clip.

The shuttle bay was almost empty, Cortez was doing a post-flight on the Kodiak and Vega was nowhere to be found so she assumed that he was working in the depths of the cargo stacks.

Pulling her hair into a quick braid, Ryder got her Eagle out of the storage locker and settled on the workbench, while on the dreadnought she'd noticed that the reload had been off. "_No time like the present to clean and fix it._" 

“Y’know, the Phalanx is better.” 

Anna jumped at the sound of Vega’s voice behind her, she hadn’t heard him. Twisting around she saw the laughter in his eyes and in the corners of his mouth, making her face heat up even more. “Unmodded, yeah. You get the right mods for the Eagle and it gets the job done better. Besides, I grew up in an N7 house so I know the Eagle best.” She twisted back to face the bench while setting down the cleaning brush. “You make a habit of sneaking up on people?”

“Kinda hard for me to sneak.” Vega looked at the partially disassembled Eagle, impressed at how methodical she was being. “That giving you trouble?” 

“Yeah. It was sticking when I reloaded. I can’t seem to find the problem.” 

Vega shifted so he was looking over Ryder’s shoulder but not crowding her personal space. “Mind if I take a look?”

Anna gestured towards an empty stool on the other side of the bench. “Sure.” 

Moving over, she waited until he was settled before sliding over the mostly disassembled pistol. “I checked the barrel and magazine but they were fine. The chamber was next on my list.”

Vega stripped apart the rest of the pistol and was silent for a moment before saying, “Looks like the firing pin has something in it. Clean it out and it should be fine.”

“Thanks.” Anna gave him a half-smile as he stood. “Lieutenant.” she found herself saying as he turned to walk away. 

“Yeah?”

“About earlier. For the first time in a long while, someone took a chance on me; making me actually think that I can have a second shot at doing this right. That I’m more than just Alec Ryder’s screw-up kid.” Anna voice cracked slightly at the end and she cleared her throat to regain control. “So I’m trying to do everything I can to show that the Commander didn’t make a mistake. And if that means taking a space walk for her, then it’s a start.”

James looked at Ryder and knew she was telling the truth. He’d spent enough time around the Commander to know that this kind of loyalty was nearly blinding and could be dangerous. “Just make sure you know what you’re doing. The Commander makes you want to be the best version of yourself but sometimes the end result isn’t what you expect.”

Anna paused at Vega’s words, wondering if he was speaking from personal experience. “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

\--  
Rose Shepard stepped out of the War Room, rubbing dry eyes. She was waiting for a reply from the Quarian’s and it seemed like for the first time since this whole thing started she had a moment to herself. A glance at her omni-tool told her that the morning shift still had an hour before reporting.

“_Maybe I can catch Kaidan and we can do a quick sparring session. It’s been awhile since I actually got to do something like that._” She thought while stepping into the CIC, absently nodding to acknowledge the salutes as she walked towards the elevator.

Stepping out onto the shuttle bay floor, she saw that Kaidan and Ryder were finishing up their daily biotics training session.

Kaidan looked up at the sound of the elevator doors opening and saw that it was Shepard. “Commander.”

“Major. How’s the training coming along?”

Anna looked up and saw the Commander, straightening up and putting her hands behind her back. It had been a few days since her impromptu space walk and the Commander hadn’t said anything about it. But she also knew the Commander was busy trying to smooth ruffled feathers between the Quarians and Geth. Not everyone was thrilled that the conflict was suddenly over, in addition to coordinating with the Crucible project to start sending Quarians over to help.

“Good. Ryder is a hell of a sparring partner.”

“Not as good as you I hope.” Rose tried to hide the smile that threatened to break at Kaidan’s face turning slightly red at the comment. They kept it professional while on the Normandy, or at least while they were on duty, but at the same time couldn’t help but tease him every once in awhile.

Kaidan cleared his throat nervously while shifting slightly, “No one could ever top you, Shepard.” 

Rose’s shoulders shook with silent laughter, and it took a few seconds before she could confidently respond, “Maybe you.”

“I don’t mind more training, Commander.” Anna piped up. “I don’t have anywhere to be for another hour.”

Rose quickly glanced at Kaidan who gave an apologetic smile, “I need to go over some Spectre reports for the Council.” 

“Looks like it’s just you and me then, Corporal.” Rose watched Kaidan pick up his water bottle, towel, and wrist guards before walking towards the elevator; her eyes drifting to how the fabric of his workout leggings managed to hug his body in all the right ways.

“Commander?” 

Rose snapped back to the present, clearing her throat while turning around. Focusing on removing her jacket so she was in the standard black sports bra for more range of motion she said, “You seem to be settling in.” 

Anna watched as Shepard started to quickly stretch, “The armory keeps me busy.” 

“I know Lieutenant Vega is glad to have someone else to help make sure everything was ready. Until you joined, the Lieutenant had been bothering Traynor to find someone.” Rose finished stretching her arms and bent down to touch her hands to the mat, stretching out her back. 

Rose then taped up her hands and stepped onto the mat, Ryder not far behind. Settling into an ease stance, she asked, “How are your biotics?” 

Ryder faced the Commander, mirroring the older woman’s stance; feet square, hands in a loose fist at her chin. “Enough time to cool-down, ma’am.”

Sheppard tilted her head as the accent ran through her ears, “Is that a Texas accent I hear, Ryder?”

“Yes ma’am. We, my mother and I that is, moved there after her divorce from Alec was finalized. Stayed there until she passed. She grew up in Corpus Cristi and still had family in the area, so she wanted to spend as much time as she could there.”

“My mother grew up in North Carolina. She never lost the accent and I sort of picked it up from her. Although it only comes out if I’m really tired or you get me to drink enough.” 

“I’ve been known to slip out a ‘bless your heart’ if I’m angry enough. Scott thought it was hilarious.”

Shepard let out a laugh, glad that she was able to draw out a bit more from Ryder. She could see that the younger woman was still guarded around others. The Reds did that to you, took anything that you had and used it against you-twisting it to suit their needs. So you learned to hide anything that you didn’t want exploited. 

Raising her fists, she continued, “You can drop the titles while we’re sparring. And no biotic moves that’ll make Doctor Chakwas ban biotics while training. Again.”

Anna quickly ducked when Shepard swung an arm and moved to reposition herself, “Again?”

“That’s a story for shore leave.”

Anna went in for a punch but Shepard blocked it at the last moment. They fell silent after that, each concentrating on exchanging strikes and trying to outsmart the other; staying light on their feet and never losing sight of the other. 

“_The Commander doesn’t hold back._” Ryder thought as she tried to duck a widely telegraphed punch but it caught the edge of her cheek, scraping the skin and stinging. 

Taking a few steps back, she gently brushed her fingers across the area and they came away pink. Anna wasn’t concerned though, it was just a light scratch and would heal. Besides, she had an obvious enough scar that no one would hardly notice a new addition.

“You good?” Rose asked, lowering her arms slightly as Ryder stepped away and realized that she was starting to sweat. It had been at least a few weeks since she’d had this good of a workout.

“Yeah.” Anna stepped back towards the Commander, raising her fists back up. 

The swing came and she pulled her biotics into a shield, Shepards fist glancing harmlessly off of it. Not pausing, Anna pulled the Commander across the mat. Releasing the field, she took a step back as Shepard quickly got to her feet.

After that the blows came mixed with biotic abilities; pulls, barriers, and throws mingled with hooks jabs, and sideswipes. Their world narrowed to each other as they put their all into trying to pin the other to end the match.

Shepard’s side was open and Anna went in for the disarm. Moving so she was in the Commander’s blind spot, she swung wide and let a spark of biotic energy discharge from her hand. It was a slightly dirty trick, but it had served her well while with the Reds so she figured it would right now.

What she wasn’t counting on was Shepard throwing her own biotic barrier up at the same time. The two energies bounced off each other and sent their respective owners stumbling back. Rose recovered quicker and pinned Ryder to the ground, holding her fist over Anna’s face.

Breathing heavily, Anna saw that there wasn’t a way out of the hold and tapped the mat with her free hand. 

“I’m impressed Ryder.” Rose said as she sat on her heels, giving the other woman space to sit up. “Usually it’s hard to find someone other than the major or Vega who can keep up with me.”

“Thank Com-Shepard.” Anna replied as she took the hand Rose offered and they slowly made their way towards their gear. “Alec started training me early, when he was around that is. He wanted to get a jump on my Alliance training and Scott had the hero worship thing going so he asked if he could get in on it as well.”

She tossed the Commander a water bottle before getting one of her own. “After though, it was more of something to do. When I wasn’t smuggling Red Sand that is.”

“It helped pass the time for me too. And what you did back on the dreadnaught, Ryder…” Rose sighed, keeping her eyes on unwrapping the tape from her hand while trying to find the right words. “It was appreciated. Even if it was slightly reckless.”

“You decided to stick your neck out for me so that was the least I could do.”

Rose turned to look at Ryder and saw in her eyes that she was being genuine. She opened her mouth to ask another question but her omni-tool chimed several times in a row and looking at it saw that EDI was reminding her that she needed to get back to the War Room. Zipping up her jacket, Rose gave Ryder a quick nod before heading towards the elevator.

“That was pretty impressive.” James said from his spot leaning against the wall. He’d been sorting through cargo, a job that never seemed to end, when he’d heard the Commander and Ryder start their session.

“Thanks.” Anna smiled at James as she began to unwind the tape from her hands. The double session had been nice, getting some extra energy out of her system.

“We have a sparring session before first shift twice a week, with those moves you’d clean up the not-so-subtle betting pool.”

Ryder slowed her movements at the casual mention while letting a half-smile appear, “Yeah...I would. Thanks for letting me know.”

“I’ll see you in twenty Corporal.” Vega turned back around so she wouldn’t see the look of amusement on his face.


	3. Until The End of the Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaidan learns the truth about the space walk and talks to Shepard.

It was late and Shepard was looking forward to getting a few hours of rack time. Glancing at her omni-tool, she was surprised to see it was well into third shift. This was reinforced by how quiet the deck seemed. 

“_Although I shouldn’t be because all-nighters seem to be the norm now._” she thought while setting a datapad on Traynor’s workstation before stepping onto the elevator.

Her cabin was quiet except for the hum of her computer on the desk and filter in the fishtank. The illumination from the water cast a blue-green glow across the room and as her eyes adjusted, she could see a Kaidan-sized lump on what had become his side of the bed. 

Rose crept down the steps while unbuttoning her formal jacket, trying to be as silent as she could while undressing.

“Thought you were going to sleep in the war room again.” Kaidan mumbled as he rolled over while peaking over the covers. 

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” Shepard said quietly while draping her clothes over the chair. She’d put them away in the morning. “And trust me, I thought about it.”

“You didn’t.” Kaidan stretched before sitting up and running a hand through his hair. “I just fell asleep.”

“You don’t have to wait for me, I keep awfully long hours now.”

Kaidan let a sleepy smile appear as Shepard got into bed next to him. “So do I, to a certain degree. I have big shoes to fill now that I’m the second human spectre.”

Rose let out a laugh, “I’m sure you’ll have no problem fitting into them.”

“I heard you had some fun sparring with Ryder this morning.” Kaidan said after a beat of silence. “Remember when we used to do that?”

“I remember when you almost dislocated your shoulder trying to pin me and Chakwas banned biotics during sparring.” Rose mumbled, feeling herself start to relax into sleep as Kaidan wrapped an arm around her waist. 

They were careful about showing affection while on-duty, even if it was an open secret that they were together, because it just made things seem separate. But in her cabin, away from everyone, they were more casual with each other. It was nice to let everything fall away and have her world narrow to that small space where it was just her and Kaidan.

“_So much of my life has been public, it’s nice to have this to myself._” she thought while closing her eyes and shifting closer to Kaidan until she could feel his body heat against her back.

Kaidan was sure how much time had passed when he heard Rose mumble something, “Hm?

“ryderspacewalk.”

It took a moment for the words to process, but when they did he stared at her, wondering what Shepard meant by those words.

\--

Rose stepped out of the bathroom to the earthy smell of coffee wafting through the cabin.

“Mmm, you’re a lifesaver.” Rose said while taking the cup from the table and one of the datapads to see if there was anything important she needed to take care of right away. Fortunately, it seemed like the galaxy was holding together for the moment so she could enjoy her morning.

“You’re welcome.” Kaidan smiled as he took his own coffee and added in sugar. “Why didn’t you tell me someone else was in your hardsuit?”

Rose stopped her cup mid-lift before glancing at him. “What do you mean?”

“You talk in your sleep. Last night you said something about Ryder and the spacewalk. I asked EDI this morning and she said that Ryder was the one who actually did it.”

“Oh.” 

“I thought we were past keeping secrets.”

Rose let a small sigh escape before setting down her untouched coffee, “I wasn’t keeping it from you...I just didn’t mention it.”

“Why?”

Shepard was silent for a moment, avoiding Kaidan’s gaze. “Because when EDI said the docking port was exposed and I’d have to do a space walk I...didn’t handle it very well. Apparently I’m not over the whole ‘getting spaced and dying’ thing.”

Guilt settled in his stomach as Kaidan put the two together. How could he have not realized? Even though it had been over three years for him and the rest of the original Normandy crew, at the same time for Rose it had only been a year and a half.

“You shouldn’t have to be.” he said while moving so he was behind Rose and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. “I should have realized that’s why you had Ryder step in.”

The solid weight of Kaidan helped to ease the tightness in her throat, but Shepard still kept a fixed eye on the table in front of her. “She did it on her own. I wasn’t in the best shape to communicate and Ryder decided to take the initiative.”

Kaidan hummed, “You should have told me.”

“You have enough to worry about, you don’t need me to add to it.”

“Hey.” Kaidan placed his hands on Rose’s shoulders and gently, but forcefully turned her so she was facing him. “We’re in this together. If something’s bothering you...tell me so I can help. You don’t have to do this alone.”

Rose could smell the scent of pine and biotics that seemed to belong uniquely to Kaidan, it reminding her that with all they'd been through he would always be in her corner. "I know, I just don't want to burden everyone with my problems."

"That not a you problem, that's an 'us' problem. Do you still have nightmares?"

"Sometimes, but you being next to me helps." 

Kaidan gave Shepard a gentle kiss, "If you ever need to talk, just let me know and I'll tell EDI that you need a break. I know how much everyone is depending on you right now, but you need to put you first sometimes."

Rose brushed the back of her hand across Kaidan's cheek, "I'll keep that in mind."


End file.
